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Getting my children to jump on the "healthy food" band wagon

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dcast4977
dcast4977 Posts: 11
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Okay, so this morning as my eight and four year old were eating their cereal Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch..I explained to them that I would not be buying these cereals for breakfast any longer. AWWWWWWWW!! WHY!!!! was the response I received. I tried explaining that all the sugar and chemicals added is really unhealthy, but they just looked at me unamused. So I decided to go online and bring up some articles and videos about what is really in the foods we eat...after about twenty minutes they seemed convinced!! It may only last a few hours but it is a small battle won!!

Do any of you have the same issue? How do you get your children eating healthier?

Replies

  • mumof5
    mumof5 Posts: 328 Member
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    my kids prettmuch eat what i eat. i relax the rules on the weekend and encourage them to help out in the kitchen all the time encouraging them to put a healthy twist on what ever they are making. for breakfast they have to start with a healthy cereal, if they are still hungry and have had a glass of water, they can finish with rice bubbles or what ever the "seconds" cereal is this week. for lunch we have salad, afternoon tea they usually have a glass of milk and cookies, but only if they have had their fruit for the day. Dinner is meat and veg, if you eat all i have put on your plate you can have desert - usually some form of custart - i have a lot of egg yolks left everyday from my breakfast/lunch!! you just have to say no. they might rebel for a while, eat very little, but in time they will get hungry and eat what ever you serve them. no child has ever deliberatley starved himself to death!! good luck :)
  • glwerth
    glwerth Posts: 335 Member
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    My boys are terible. Well, my older two are and it is 100% my fault.

    I modeled poor behavior for them when they were small.

    My 3 year old (almost 4) eats yogurt, veggies, fruit, and doesn't really like sweets all that much.

    We started eating healthier while he was little.

    I dont know what to do about my older ones, I just cling to the realization that when I was young, I didn't eat veggies at all and I learned to do so as I grew up. I hope they do too.
  • dcast4977
    dcast4977 Posts: 11
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    my kids prettmuch eat what i eat. i relax the rules on the weekend and encourage them to help out in the kitchen all the time encouraging them to put a healthy twist on what ever they are making. for breakfast they have to start with a healthy cereal, if they are still hungry and have had a glass of water, they can finish with rice bubbles or what ever the "seconds" cereal is this week. for lunch we have salad, afternoon tea they usually have a glass of milk and cookies, but only if they have had their fruit for the day. Dinner is meat and veg, if you eat all i have put on your plate you can have desert - usually some form of custart - i have a lot of egg yolks left everyday from my breakfast/lunch!! you just have to say no. they might rebel for a while, eat very little, but in time they will get hungry and eat what ever you serve them. no child has ever deliberatley starved himself to death!! good luck :)

    I agree! Luckily eating fruits and vegetables has always been a part of our diet. Eating a healthy balanced meal at lunch and dinner is important to me and so they don't have problems eating vegetables. The worst is breakfast, they love sugar loaded cereals. But I do not buy snacks or other junk food so they are always reaching for fruit. Luckily here in Florida there is a wide variety of fruits year round. They also love their desserts which usually consists of low sugar popsicles.

    Something I did not realize is how horrible the school lunches are!! I picked up my daughter early from school one day and she brought her lunch tray with her. They are supposed to be healthy balanced meals but they are not! So now I pack a lunch for her.
  • raetonycass
    raetonycass Posts: 58 Member
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    My kids eat what is in the house period. Aside from cereal I dont' buy a lot of junk. We go through about 32 oz of cheese in a week though because that is their go to munchy snack. They love the quaker oat squares or frosted mini wheats cereals for snacks too. DH brings them home an apple or an orange every day from work. I prepare everyones plate at lunch and dinner. They eat what is on their plate or they don't eat again til the next meal. My kids think a real treat is yogurt!
  • PNCTink
    PNCTink Posts: 232 Member
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    We're working on our 5 year old. We made lots of food mistakes with her. Luckily, our son (3.5) has always enjoyed healthier foods. So I have been talking to our daughter about why we need to eat healthier, and she even sat down to watch Forks Over Knives with me. She was mesmerized at the cholesterol coming out of the arteries. She's slowly changing, and we're not buying all the crap anymore. She really has no choice. We do allow an occassional treat, but only because I saw a girl lose her mother (never allowed treats, ever) and start going nuts with junk food. It wasn't good.

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